Suning have no intention of leaving Inter anytime soon, according to a report in the Italian media today.
Zhang Jindong published a letter on the Nerazzurri’s website on Tuesday, thanking everyone at the club for winning the Serie A title and assuring supporters that the scudetto was ‘the start and not the end’ for Inter.
Corriere dello Sport’s print edition interpreted Zhang’s words as evidence that Suning remain committed to Inter and do not intend to abandon the club, now that their project is finally bearing fruit.
Suning’s objective is to secure the resources needed to keep Inter a highly competitive team, enabling them to start next season with a chance of defending their league title and improving in the UEFA Champions League.
Zhang caused concern among supporters in February when he vowed to cut any business ventures deemed ‘irrelevant’ to Suning, leading many to predict they would sell Inter.
However, as per the Rome-based paper, his comments yesterday prove that Inter remain a relevant business to them and will not suffer the same fate as FC Jiangsu, who went out of business in March.
Suning have only received interest from one group in terms of buying Inter, and that was BC Partners whose offer for the club was too low.
Inter are now close to securing a €250-270 million loan deal from Bain Capital, which will finally ease the club’s short-term financial problems.
Suning will use part of the money from that agreement to buy out LionRock Capital’s 31.05% stake in Inter, at which point they will seek a new minority shareholder.
